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Busy cruise month in Hamburg

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 18 May 2015 18 May 2015

It all started on 1 May with the MSC Splendida from MSC Cruises. At 333 metres long, 37 metres wide and with 1,637 cabins for up to 4,300 guests, it is the largest passenger ship that will set sail from the Hanseatic city this summer. On 1 May, at the maiden call in Hamburg, MSC Splendida expected a gala reception with the traditional handing over of the plaque between captain and port captain. At the ceremony, Hamburg's Senator for Economics, Frank Horch and MSC Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago were also on board, to exchange the symbolic gifts. At the HafenCity Cruise Centre, in addition to the on board official ceremony, there was a festival for the whole family, for visitors and boat enthusiasts alike. On offer was a colourful stage show with live music, exciting acts and entertainment for both young and old.

On the following weekend from 8 to 10 May 2015, the festivities were focused on the 826th Port anniversary. For the port anniversary, six cruise ships made their appearance (AIDAbella, AIDAsol, Amadea, Artania, Europa 2, and Queen Elizabeth). The Amadea and Europe 2 made multiple visits to the port during this time. The highlight was Saturday night, when the traditional AIDA fireworks lit up the night sky over Hamburg. Despite the stormy weather, hundreds of thousands of onlookers flocked to the jetties to take part in the 826th Hamburg Harbour anniversary celebrations. On the river Elbe, the AIDAbella cruise ship presented a laser show. This year, AIDA Cruises is also the main sponsor of the biggest maritime folk festival.

Further first maiden calls in this packed month were Ocean Diamond on 12 May, Poseidon Expeditions’ Sea Spirit on 16 May, followed by TUI Cruises Mein Schiff 4 on 22 May.

To ensure the success of the maiden calls, the Hamburg Cruise Centre (HCC) is on hand for cruise lines. A welcome with a sea shanty: not something you get on every cruise. But on 30 April, for the approximately 3,500 guests of the Regal Princess, the HHLA shanty choir belted out loud and clear - a gift from the HCC in honour of the first point of call of the Princess Cruises shipping company’s newest fleet member. To celebrate a ship’s launch in a fitting manner, the HCC offers cruise companies a whole range of services, such as support for PR activities, or even a welcome with a firefighter boat. And if you have something else in mind - no problem: The HCC sees itself as a creative partner for everything connected to the ship’s visit.

"It is important to us, that a ship’s maiden call, or even a first visit by a cruise line to our Hanseatic city, is a special experience. After several years of working on acquisitions, receiving the ship in the port of Hamburg is the crowning glory and will be attended to by us with all means at our disposal," stated Nadine Palatz, HCC e.V management.

In May, the HCC expected around 40 ports of call with an accompanying passenger volume of over 100,000.

Montreal expects more than 90,000 cruise passengers and crew members in 2015

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 15 May 2015 15 May 2015

The emergence of spring marks the beginning of a brand new cruise season! On May 12, the Port of Montréal saluted the first ship of 2015, as it set sail with some 200 cruise passengers aboard. With just over 71,000 domestic and international passengers expected this year – plus 19,000 crew members, more than 90,000 cruise visitors will descend on Montréal this season. These figures represent an increase of more than 27% over last season, when Quebec's biggest city welcomed 56,466 passengers and 14,578 crew members.

"The Montréal Cruise Committee invites Montrealers and visitors to the city to head to the magnificent Old Port Promenade for an impressive view of the ships that will be tying up in Montréal over the course of the season. With no fewer than 19 ships expected, including 5 new ones (Marina, Insignia, AIDAdiva, Saga Sapphire and Saint-Laurent Prestige), it's going to be a great cruise season at the Port of Montréal. The Saint-Laurent Prestige, which chose Montréal as its home port for the 2015 season, will be the first vessel of the year to take on passengers and set sail from Montréal on May 12."

 "Cruises are central to our strategic planning. We've set some ambitious goals once again this year. Based on our current figures, it looks like all our efforts – and those of our partners – are going to pay off with a record number of visitors. Now more than ever, Montréal is a top destination for cruise passengers from around the world," noted Yves Lalumière, president and CEO of Tourisme Montréal. "Tourisme Montréal would also like to call attention to the investments announced by the Québec government as part of Québec's Maritime Strategy. The construction of a new maritime terminal will have a big impact on tourism and generate economic spinoffs for Montréal. We see a bright future ahead."

"This season marks another big step for the Montréal cruise sector. We are particularly pleased to see international cruise companies consolidating their operations in Montréal by bringing us new ships, and to see river cruises becoming increasingly popular. It goes to show that Montréal is a premier destination and that the cruise industry really values our top quality services," added Sylvie Vachon, president and CEO of the Montréal Port Authority.

Russian delegation visits in Heraklion

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 14 May 2015 14 May 2015

The Chairman and Managing Director of Heraklion Port Authority, Ioannis Bras on Monday 5th of May 2015 at the authority's office, welcomed a group of 10 eminent Russian journalists who participate in the Press Tour organized by a large Russian tour operator.

During the meeting, Bras made a presentation of Heraklion Port, its facilities and capabilities, the high level of competitive services offered, the current practices that the management applies in the cruise sector, as well as a presentation of the “5 senses” model which has been successfully implemented and enhanced the visitors’ experience in the past years.

Furthermore issues such as interconnectivity of Heraklion with islands such as Santorini and Mykonos were discussed as well as the possibility of cruises that start and finish in Heraklion for the very special and emerging market of Russia.

As Bras said "These meetings are very important in order to communicate our efforts to the public of Russia in cooperation with local authorities in a difficult year for the Russian tourism."

Also at its statement the Russian tour operator said that "In this Press Tour, Prominent Russian journalists are involved, representing TV channels, radio, press and electronic media from Russia and will hold meetings with other authorities of Crete in order to reproduce the image of Crete island.

This meeting took place within the framework of the good cooperation of Russian tour operators with Heraklion Port Authority due to the beginning of cruises from Heraklion for Russian passengers under the program «FLY-STAY-CRUISE» and all participants were impressed by the innovative ideas of the Management, their application to the image of the port and city, but also the connection of the agricultural Cretan products and culture with tourism".

After the meeting, a working lunch was quoted by H.P.A. and small gifts and full informational material about the five senses model which is applied and its prospects were given.

Tourism officials from Puerto Vallarta meet with leading cruise line executives

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 13 May 2015 13 May 2015

Jalisco’s Minister of Tourism, Mr. Enrique Ramos Flores, the Tourism Director of the City of Puerto Vallarta, Mr. Oscar Perez, the Director of the Mexican Tourism Board for North America, Mr. Rodrigo Esponda and the Directors of Security for the State of Jalisco and the City of Puerto Vallarta met with Michele Paige, President of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), and Representatives from Leading cruise lines including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival and Disney to discuss enhancements to operations in the destination.
 
During the meeting, held today in Miami, Florida, all parties agreed to improve and increase communications to ensure the cruise lines are kept better informed and receive updates in real time about the destination. Enhancements to the security at Puerto Vallarta’s marina will be implemented to ensure the cruise lines know the whereabouts of all passengers who go ashore; as it is done in many other international cruise destinations. An average of 65% of cruise line passengers who disembark in Puerto Vallarta chose to explore the area unescorted. The City of Puerto Vallarta will work with local tour operators, taxi drivers and other tourism service providers to employ new measures that inform the ships of their passengers’ location.
 
This week Disney, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruises did not make the last stop of their seasonal route in Puerto Vallarta as scheduled due to conflicting and inaccurate reports about events that occurred on May 1st in the destination. Carnival Cruise Line has been calling on Puerto Vallarta as scheduled and Norwegian Cruise Line made an unscheduled call on Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday, May 5th. Both cruise lines have been running tours and excursions in the destination as planned. Currently, Carnival is the only cruise line operating a weekly scheduled call in the destination which is entering summer season. All cruise ship calls to Puerto Vallarta have been and are expected to continue as scheduled.
 
The unfortunate events that took place in Puerto Vallarta and other areas in the state of Jalisco on Friday morning May 1st were quickly contained and resolved. No harm came to any residents or visitors to Puerto Vallarta and no disturbance, restriction or limits affected tourists in the area. All tourism infrastructure and services including the cruise ship terminal, marina, airport, convention center, hotels and resorts, tours, and ground transport remained fully operational. Puerto Vallarta continues to offer the tranquility, warm hospitality and security it is well known for, and the isolated and highly unusual incidents that took place have in no way affected or altered this.
 
Hotel occupation has been running at an average of 80% occupancy in Puerto Vallarta since October 2014; according to the Mexico Ministry of Tourism and Puerto Vallarta was operating at 95% full during the long holiday weekend between May 1st–4th. The North American Travel Journalist Association (NATJA) Annual Conference was held in Puerto Vallarta between May 4th-9th and the city hosted over 140 American and Canadian travel writers, editors, bloggers, photographers, and videographers. All delegates enjoyed numerous activities and excursions throughout the city on their own as well as in group outings during their week-long visit and have been posting blogs, live tweets, photos and videos of their experience.